That's a great idea, and we actually do this whenever possible...which is rarely.

Most manufacturers have individual item numbers for every permutation of color/trim/nib.

Some do not - many Monteverde models, for example, have a single body that can easily be fitted with a ballpoint, rollerball, fountain pen, or mechanical pencil after the drop ends and before it has been shipped

Even if the nibs are interchangeable, the extra parts and labor necessary to assemble pens individually for each order are prohibitive. In this case, Pelikan assembles and tests each pen in the factory - so they really don't want a US vendor disassembling and changing new nibs.

The only way this could be accomplished is with an estimated shipping date of 6 to 8 weeks. I would be very interested to hear from you and other members: Would that be a good tradeoff?

Oh OK, thanks for the explanation. I really can't speak for others, but I don't mind waiting. (It's not that I have a shortage of pens to tide me over ... but I know that tempers flared when the L2K drop at the end of 2014 was dragged out a little).

My only reference point here was the small eBay vendors from Germany (Regina Martini, Rolf Thiel, etc.) who would routinely list a pen, but offer a nib of your choice if you want something other than the listed item.

I wouldn't buy in this case. I wouldn't want anyone that is not Pelikan disassembling/assembling my pen (and couldn't this void Pelikan's warranty?). Besides, Pelikan already offers nib exchange for free, so if the nib I want is not available in Massdrop I buy whatever nib is available and just send it to Pelikan to get the nib I really want.